A new crypto law written by the State Duma may contain a ban on bitcoin payments. According to the piece signed by Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the second highest chamber of the Russian parliament, any form of digital financial activity will be banned in the country.
“Ruble is the official currency of the Russian Federation”
Aksakov writes in no uncertain terms about the intention to ban means of payment other than the ruble in Russia. “The ruble is the official currency of the Russian Federation. The article means a ban on the introduction of other means of payment or monetary surrogates on the territory of the Russian Federation,” Aksakov said of the ban on bitcoin payments.
The new #Russian law uses "digital financial assets" to refer to all cryptocurrencies and crypto-assets.
The regulation will cover candidates running for seats in state and municipal authorities and representatives of political parties nominated for the highest posts. pic.twitter.com/bYRNr0zJ04
— DeFi Coins (@DeFiCoins5) June 4, 2022
In order to become official law, the bill must still pass three stages of assessment by the State Duma. After that, it ends up on the plate of the Federation Council and finally Vladimir Putin has to give his approval to the proposal. It is striking that last October, Putin declared that bitcoin has the right to exist and can be used as a means of payment.
Russia hesitates
This news obviously does not mean that the ban on bitcoin payments in Russia is a matter of time. It seems that Russia is not quite sure what to do with bitcoin. Earlier this month, Ksenia Yudaeva, the deputy governor of Russia’s central bank, said that she did not object to Russians using bitcoin for payments outside of Russia.
Earlier this year, the central bank was of the opinion that bitcoin should be banned completely, while the finance minister opted for regulation. So, measured across the board, it is difficult to find out exactly what they intend to do with bitcoin in terms of legislation. The chances are that they will continue to muddle through before any decisions are made.